Lingard aims to play 'week-in, week-out'

Jesse Lingard wants to satisfy his thirst for first-team football after making his first Manchester United appearance of the season at the weekend.

Lingard replaced Juan Mata at half-time on Saturday and played the second half of United's 3-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park.

It was the first time the 22-year-old had played for United since suffering a serious knee injury on his debut against Swansea on the opening day of last season.

Upon his return, Lingard was sent on loan to Derby, but the midfielder played a significant part in United's pre-season tour after returning from Pride Park and is now hoping to gain more minutes under Louis van Gaal this term.

"I want to be doing this week-in, week-out, playing for Man Utd," the United midfielder said after the victory on Merseyside.

"I have got to be patient and wait for my time. But it's great that I got 45 minutes against Everton. For the first 10 minutes I was blowing a bit, but I got my second wind and then got comfortable.

"It's great to be back and help the team in any way I can."

Lingard enjoyed a good pre-season with United, playing in each of the four games in the United States.

The highlight of his tour was scoring in a 3-1 win over Barcelona in front of 68,416 people in Santa Clara. After returning from the US this summer, Lingard held talks with Van Gaal about his future and the message he received from the United boss was a positive one.

"The manager said he wanted me to stay, and that he sees me playing games this season and I think Saturday won't have done me any harm, hopefully," said Lingard, who has been at United since he was seven.